I am only just beginning to get accustomed to the Spanish schedule, which is vastly different than in America. Here, people sleep late, as nothing opens until about 10 AM (unless of course you're a student at the University, in which case you are at school by 9!) The first part of the day lasts until about 2 PM, when everyone (and I mean EVERYONE) goes home to eat "la comida," the main meal of the day. The meal can last up to two hours, as Spaniards eat much slower than Americans, enjoying the company of the whole family. Afterwards, people generally take "una siesta"- a nap or rest. Then, around 5 or 6, people are back out en las calles for the second part of the day. The streets are packed, and people of all ages can be found out and about. Dinner is usually eaten around 9 or 10, but the streets remain crowded until about 1 or 2 AM.
Unfortunately, I am having a very difficult time adjusting to the time difference, and I therefore sleep about as much at night as I do in the middle of the day due to insomnia- hopefully this will subside soon enough.
Ok so this is very strange to me: Franklin and Marshall College is a small liberal arts school in Pennsylvania (I have a good friend who attends F&M). Apparently (if I am not mistaken) the story goes that a pair of French designers were in America and found a Franklin and Marshall sweatshirt in a consignment shop. They liked the "vintage, all-American" look of the gear, and it inspired the concept for their clothing line. I have seen people wearing F&M gear all over the city, and apparently it is now one of the most popular brands in Europe. I actually told one Granadian wearing an F&M tee shirt that Franklin and Marshall is a college in America: he had no idea.
Last night, some of my classmates and I went out after dinner for drinks and tapas. Tapas are the quintessential cuisine of Spain: they generally consist of an assorted variety of Spanish-inspired 'finger foods.' Granada is one of the few cities left to uphold the law that every bar must serve tapas for every round of drinks ordered. This is probably the best law I've ever heard of, unless of course, you didn't want to gain a bunch of weight abroad! Nevertheless, we ventured to La Bella y La Bestia (Beauty and the Beast), a bar that boasts of having "the best free tapas in Granada!" Here I had my first sangria.
Sangria- this one was about a 50/50 fruit to drink ratio... nonetheless, it was muy delicioso
Our drinks came with three free plates of this: papas fritas, sándwiches de jamón y queso, y ensalada de pasta
New friends!
Afterwards, we went to Café Futbol, una cafetería notoriously known for its churros con chocolate. Fueron fantásticos.
We also tried "La Alhambra Cerveza," which is Granada's very own brand of beer.
Overall it was a great night, and classmates became new friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment